Honda lawn mower

[CTyankee]

Picked this up today at a tag sale. The mower was off to the side and when I inquired how much the lady said "It's free, was her fathers. Would start with starter fluid, but die right out". I did give her husband a dollar for helping stuff it in my Jeep.

One $ 2.79 plug, 10 minutes of youtube videos and about 20 minutes of carb cleaning , and I was mowing the back yard. Haven't done a lot of seaching yet, had to come here first to do a little bragging first

Definitely has some age to it, but seems to have been a quality machine for it's time. I like the fact that the safety bar only engages/disengages the blade instead of shutting the whole mower off. 3 speed. Has some strange double cutting blade. Really nice shape...bagger is in great condition.

Been looking all summer for something to replace my POS LawnBoy. With tag sales few and far between these days, was lucky to stumble upon this.

 

[Zrexxer]

I did give her husband a dollar for helping stuff it in my Jeep.

Wow, a whole dollar? Easy there, big spender.

 

[SweetD]

Power ****. You.

 

[FMC1959]

That would have been a steal for anything under $200. New they are $400+ and should last close to forever.

 

[PBCampbell]

This is easily a BIG you ****.

 

[dutchgray]

Safety bars on mowers are what cable ties are for.
These old Honda mowers are top quality, Dad had one for 25 years and he had bought it second hand, only got rid as the self propulsion blew up and its oil consumption was such you had to top it up after every hours use. The current ones are not quite as good though.

 

[RedRabbit]

My grandfather has one of those, It hasn't been used in years and I need to clean the car, maybe change a couple of lines but when we used to use it it was fantastic. You **** for the deal.

 

[CNGsaves]

Holy **** . . . $1 for THAT Honda mower ??

That's definite YOU **** !!!

Gotta ask what you mean by . . . . . "Tag Sale" . . . . is that British lingo ??

 

[dsimatt]

Safety bars on mowers are what cable ties are for.
These old Honda mowers are top quality, Dad had one for 25 years and he had bought it second hand, only got rid as the self propulsion blew up and its oil consumption was such you had to top it up after every hours use. The current ones are not quite as good though.

As I was working on my 3 year old Honda more once again I was wondering where the Honda perfection has gone.....but the OP got a good score on that.

 

[Kurt4440]

I guess your POS Lawn-Boy is not a 2 stroke. Good luck with the Honda.

 

[SweetD]

I guess your POS Lawn-Boy is not a 2 stroke. Good luck with the Honda.

I hear you Kurt - those old school Lawn Boy 2 strokes were the absolute best push-mowers. Had one growing up. Finally seized the motor after 25 years - probably human error over time.

 

[Leadberry]

I love my Honda push mower. Good find OP.

 

[CTyankee]

Wow, a whole dollar? Easy there, big spender.

Holy **** . . . $1 for THAT Honda mower ??

That's definite YOU **** !!!

Gotta ask what you mean by . . . . . "Tag Sale" . . . . is that British lingo ??

He seemed happy enough with it... I actually had my doubts about even giving him the dollar...I was still talking to the wife and he was already pushing it toward my Jeep...Seemed like they really wanted it gone. Heck, if I haggled, I'll bet I could have got them to pay ME a dollar just to take it..

tag(as in tag with a price on it) sale = garage sale

Probably 50/50...garage/tag around these parts. Don't ask me why..been that way since I can remember.

 

[justme-]

Nice find! Carbs for those older Harmony mowers are cheap too - I wouldn't spend the time cleaning it again for what they cost. Last one I bought cost me $20, and that was before I went to work for a Honda power equipment dealer. Also, the drive wheels can get gummed up - a little white lith grease on the sprocket and shaft inside the rear wheels annually is a good thing. Just make sure you put the sprocket back on the correct direction or you will have no drive from that wheel.

 

[MattPersman]

My Honda mower 2006 model is to the point of fooling with it quite frequently. They may have lasted forever at some point but this 8 year old one has been a PITA for the last two seasons. Almost thinking of just buying a new one each 4-5 years and reselling the used but good condition one for half the cost of new while it's still worth something.

 

[DenisG]

Picked this up today at a tag sale. The mower was off to the side and when I inquired how much the lady said "It's free, was her fathers. Would start with starter fluid, but die right out". I did give her husband a dollar for helping stuff it in my Jeep.

One $ 2.79 plug, 10 minutes of youtube videos and about 20 minutes of carb cleaning , and I was mowing the back yard. Haven't done a lot of seaching yet, had to come here first to do a little bragging first

Definitely has some age to it, but seems to have been a quality machine for it's time. I like the fact that the safety bar only engages/disengages the blade instead of shutting the whole mower off. 3 speed. Has some strange double cutting blade. Really nice shape...bagger is in great condition.

Been looking all summer for something to replace my POS LawnBoy. With tag sales few and far between these days, was lucky to stumble upon this.

I have one of those. If it's never been done, it might be good to check the valve clearance (affects compression release). That also might help with the starting problems. You can find examples of valve clearance adjustment for Honda mowers on Youtube.

 

[PT Doc]

As I was working on my 3 year old Honda more once again I was wondering where the Honda perfection has gone.....but the OP got a good score on that.

If you need to keep working on it, then there is obviously a problem. What is the problem?

I have a 14 year old Honda and drain the gas at the end of the season, throw a drop behind the plug and store for the winter. Come spring, new gas and she starts on the first pull ever time.

No disrespect meant but sometimes the problem is the Indian and not the arrow? I did have to get some feeler gauges and adjust the choke cable tension but that was early on.

What are the symptoms? Post them here and you will likely get some good suggestions.

 

[KZ1000J]

I've had similar experiences several times. Last spring I picked up a mower from Craigslist, owner said it just quit running and did not have time to fool with it. I arrived to find a lightly used Toro with front drive & automatic choke. Took it home, unloaded, checked the gas tank and it was empty. Filled it up, two pulls on the pull cord and I was cutting the back yard.

The mower did come from a very affluent part of town and I had a feeling that at a minimum I'd have to do a carb clean-up but surprises are nice.

KZ

 

[picshooter]

This site can be your friend if you have any questions.
http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/honda-forum/

 

[bwringer]

I scored a brand-new Craftsman mower for $20 three years ago. It had been used exactly once to mow a postage stamp sized yard in the fall -- still had the paint on the blade.

The following spring, the homeowner was moving into a condo and it went on CrackList for $120 (fair enough; new price was about $350).

When I arrived, the owner was simply writhing with embarrassment -- the mower wouldn't start, and she didn't know what to do. She called around, and the minimum shop charge was $60. So if I was still interested in this horrible POS, they would take the $60 off I could get it for $60. I checked to make sure it had oil and compression, said that would be fine with me, so we loaded it up.

On the way to the truck, she mentioned this weird old green mower in the back of the garage and started pushing it to the curb for trash. I diverted it slightly, and she was grateful for the assistance...

When I got home, I dumped the float bowl on the Craftsman (Briggs engine), filled it with fresh gas, and it's started on the first pull ever since.

The old Lawn Boy was running inside of five minutes -- dump the float bowl, clean the plug, fresh 2-cycle mix in the tank, and it was humming contentedly through the yard as Lawn Boys do. It went on CrackList for $40 (it was in pretty rough shape overall) and was gone within two hours.


Then there's the time I got an almost new lawn tractor for free... neighbor was moving, pushed it out of their garage to the curb. I started pushing it into my garage. They said it was just plain broken and I shouldn't waste my time -- the third time they tried to mow with it, it wouldn't start so they just used their old mower and sort of forgot about it.

Needed a $15 solenoid, a battery, and fresh gas. I had the decency to wait until they left to start it...

 

[ken w.]

That's a $600.00 lawn mower at Home Depot. I bought one in the spring at a lawn sale for $ 125.00 with an extra bag. It's by far the nicest mower I've ever had. One or two pulls and it starts every time , runs smooth and quiet. You deserve a U **** for this one.